Easton Mako Skates

[enis750 48]

3 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

Think of it like this. Mako is a stock boot with custom insides (thanks to the level of heat molding ability). VH is a custom boot with custom insides. If you tried on a pair of VH, then it must have just been a stock boot they have. Buying VH without going custom is just silly.

So while you may not like the Mako fit, there's no good reason why anyone wouldn't like the VH fit because it's literally made for your foot. The only way I could see somebody not liking VH is just because they're used to an ill-fitting ski boot-like boot and don't like things feeling different to them.  

it was just a stock boot, yes

guess the ill fitting ski boot is my preference ;) 

[Hat_Trick_Hokie 49]

17 hours ago, enis750 said:

guess the ill fitting ski boot is my preference ;) 

Haha.  Glad you're taking the comments in stride.  Enjoy the Vapors, and don't let these Mako groupies make you feel bad.

[Kgbeast 195]

18 hours ago, enis750 said:

it was just a stock boot, yes

guess the ill fitting ski boot is my preference ;) 

Lol... of course store bought skates will be ill fitting, after all they are made for sausage party characters, not people. Right?

 

 

[IPv6Freely 2093]

2 hours ago, Kgbeast said:

Lol... of course store bought skates will be ill fitting, after all they are made for sausage party characters, not people. Right?

 

 

Huh?

[marka 526]

Howdy,

Ok, got my M8's today, threw them in the oven (regular oven, set to 205 deg, brought to temp, shut off, put skates in for 10 min), and baked them.

Everyone talks about how crazy pliable / "play dough" like they are... Is that an exaggeration?  Because while they were a little more pliable, they weren't what I'd call really pliable or soft.

Anyway, we'll see.  Sitting there for 20 minutes or so after I put them on for the bake, nothing hurt or anything.  They seem to fail the pencil test pretty hard, but not sure that'll matter all that much with the plastic tongue guard?  The comfort just sitting there was pretty well "eh, whatever" vs. "OMG these rock!

Appreciate any input from folks that have baked these and know what they feel like coming out of the oven!  I do have the option to go to my local rink and bake them in the "normal skate oven" there (the box talks about a specific Easton oven... and only putting them in a non-easton oven for 10 min?  Not sure what's up with that).

Mark

[althoma1 575]

A regular non-convection oven doesn't distribute heat as effectively or evenly. That's probably why they didn't feel that pliable. I'd try them first and if they don't feel that comfortable then I'd take them to your local shop and have them baked in that oven for at least 10 minutes (the original Mako boxes said 16 minutes) and make sure it's preheated.

[icewalker_bg 126]

The original Mako boxes did not say 16min, it has always been a MAXIMUM of 10min and I have seen plenty, unless its a batch that I a have never seen. 8-10Min is what I have been doing for probably 7-8 pairs, at home, works like a charm, 16 is overkill I find. 

EDIT : Just saw some comments the first boxes were saying 16min, absolutely not needed if you ask me. 

 

 

 

Edited September 2, 2016 by icewalker_bg

[Kgbeast 195]

44 minutes ago, marka said:

Howdy,

Ok, got my M8's today, threw them in the oven (regular oven, set to 205 deg, brought to temp, shut off, put skates in for 10 min), and baked them.

Everyone talks about how crazy pliable / "play dough" like they are... Is that an exaggeration?  Because while they were a little more pliable, they weren't what I'd call really pliable or soft.

Anyway, we'll see.  Sitting there for 20 minutes or so after I put them on for the bake, nothing hurt or anything.  They seem to fail the pencil test pretty hard, but not sure that'll matter all that much with the plastic tongue guard?  The comfort just sitting there was pretty well "eh, whatever" vs. "OMG these rock!

Appreciate any input from folks that have baked these and know what they feel like coming out of the oven!  I do have the option to go to my local rink and bake them in the "normal skate oven" there (the box talks about a specific Easton oven... and only putting them in a non-easton oven for 10 min?  Not sure what's up with that).

Mark

When I read play-dough blurb in here before, I was wondering if that is an exaggeration... I guess it is. As for pencil test, Mako are shallow fit (similar to jetspeed skates) based on Hockey Giant fit table, but I think you are right about hard tongue, it should be a problem. How narrow are they and they are, did baking addressed that?

[IPv6Freely 2093]

Not at all an exaggeration. Mine were extremely soft when I had mine baked. Not as much as the VH but still pretty damn soft. Play-doh is probably about right for a description. 

[althoma1 575]

The early batches said 16. Not all originals. 10 minutes should be ok in a good preheated CONVECTION oven.

Read Chadd's comments about the box saying 16 minutes a 200 early in the thread - see the post below.

 

Edited September 3, 2016 by althoma1

[marka 526]

Howdy,

Thanks folks.

I think I'll take them up to the local rink and do a bake there.  They didn't feel any more pliable than any of the other skates I've done.

Is there anything to the "Easton oven" thing, or do they just mean "a real skate oven, not your house oven"?

I'm withholding judgement for now.  I'd like to make sure they get a good bake on them, then I'll wear them around the house for a half hour or whatever the next day, then decide if I'm going to sharpen them and give them a go (which means I can't return them for credit).

 

Mark

[Chadd 916]

I'm guessing that they used Easton branded ovens when determining the time and temp. Other ovens may be calibrated differently, but should still work

[kyleo29 58]

Just got the m7s from ups today, laced them up and right away my first thought was 'how the hell am i supposed to get my feet in here?' once i put them on they are super form fitting and unlike any fit ive had. Almost claustrophobic. Couple pressure points, one at the arch and one by my pinkie toes. Gonna head to general sports and see what baking does.

[IPv6Freely 2093]

1 hour ago, kyleo29 said:

Just got the m7s from ups today, laced them up and right away my first thought was 'how the hell am i supposed to get my feet in here?' once i put them on they are super form fitting and unlike any fit ive had. Almost claustrophobic. Couple pressure points, one at the arch and one by my pinkie toes. Gonna head to general sports and see what baking does.

Many people aren't able to get their feet in them prior to baking them. That's because baking them is the entire point. I don't know why people even try.

[althoma1 575]

2 hours ago, kyleo29 said:

Just got the m7s from ups today, laced them up and right away my first thought was 'how the hell am i supposed to get my feet in here?' once i put them on they are super form fitting and unlike any fit ive had. Almost claustrophobic. Couple pressure points, one at the arch and one by my pinkie toes. Gonna head to general sports and see what baking does.

I'd take the whole box with you to show them you bake them for 10 minutes at 200 and make sure they preheat the oven. If they're not used to baking Mako skates or skates like them then some shops baulk at putting skates in for longer than 5 minutes (at least that's been my experience in the past).

[IMC 10]

On September 3, 2016 at 10:02 PM, IPv6Freely said:

Many people aren't able to get their feet in them prior to baking them. That's because baking them is the entire point. I don't know why people even try.

^ x10

When I first ordered them and tried them on, I was already looking into the return policy because I could barely get my foot in them

After baking them and a few skates, I ordered a 2nd pair because they fit so well! 

[marka 526]

Howdy,

On 9/2/2016 at 11:37 PM, marka said:

I think I'll take them up to the local rink and do a bake there.  They didn't feel any more pliable than any of the other skates I've done.

Is there anything to the "Easton oven" thing, or do they just mean "a real skate oven, not your house oven"?

I'm withholding judgement for now.  I'd like to make sure they get a good bake on them, then I'll wear them around the house for a half hour or whatever the next day, then decide if I'm going to sharpen them and give them a go (which means I can't return them for credit).

 

 

Used these last night for the first time.  I did get up to the local rink and do a bake there.  They were a little softer than the bake I did at home, but still not "play dough".  Maybe really old / hard play dough.  :-)  I preheated the oven to 197, then put them in for just a touch over ten minutes (temp dropped to 188 when I opened the door, so I went a touch longer).  Also left one in while I was lacing up the first one, so that one got another minute or two.  Fairly old Blade Master oven, not sure what model.  I baked with regular athletic socks on.

 

Anyway... played in them last night, with Bauer skate socks.  No pain!  That's a significant improvement over every other skate I've used in my extremely short time...  I miss the lace locks from the Ribcors though.  Boot loosened up a bit so I re-tied about 1/2 hour in and my ankles got a bit of that "in concrete" feel.  Going to try a lace locking pattern per someone's post above at 4 eyelets down from the top to see if that will help before I look into putting actual lace locks into the skates though.

For anyone else out there going from Ribcors to these... I was in an 8D in the CCM Ribcor and went to a 7.5D in the Mako M8.  The Mako is a touch shorter (which I needed) in length and I would say the overall width is similar, though the shape is different (perhaps because of the molding to my foot more than anything else?)... Seems like less volume on the M8 as compared to the Ribcor as well and I fail the pencil test in them, but no issues with lace bite last night.  My mostly uneducated guess is that the plastic tongue guard / very thick tongue is helping there.

Figured I'd just post an update.  Thanks to JR in particular who helped me with the size!

Mark

[IPv6Freely 2093]

I installed lace locks on my makos. I once had a pair of RBK skates which, while fantastic looking, didn't fit me well. But I loved the lace locks.

[marka 526]

Howdy,

6 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

I installed lace locks on my makos. I once had a pair of RBK skates which, while fantastic looking, didn't fit me well. But I loved the lace locks.

 

Did you just get the lace lock parts from the reebok skates and screw them into one of the eyelets?

Mark

[jimmy 194]

That's odd that one would need lace locks, just the opposite is what most people find. They fit so snug that laces are barely needed. I ditched the wax laces, and just snugged the cloth laces up. Later I went to the Skate strap velcro system.  If the skate size is correct, I don't see lace locks needed.

[IPv6Freely 2093]

3 hours ago, marka said:

Howdy,

 

Did you just get the lace lock parts from the reebok skates and screw them into one of the eyelets?

Mark

I bought the locks from... HockeyMonkey, I think? I can't remember if it was HM or IW. Either way, you can just buy them loose.

3 hours ago, jimmy said:

That's odd that one would need lace locks, just the opposite is what most people find. They fit so snug that laces are barely needed. I ditched the wax laces, and just snugged the cloth laces up. Later I went to the Skate strap velcro system.  If the skate size is correct, I don't see lace locks needed.

That's exactly it. The lower half is barely snug on my Makos. The top half (last 3 eyelets) are much tighter. I like the lace locks (in eyelet 4) because no matter how tight I make the top 3 eyelets, the 5th eyelet and below stays loose. Skate size is correct. 

[kyleo29 58]

On 9/2/2016 at 8:09 PM, IPv6Freely said:

Not at all an exaggeration. Mine were extremely soft when I had mine baked. Not as much as the VH but still pretty damn soft. Play-doh is probably about right for a description. 

Finally got around to baking my m7s. Had my local shop do it at 200 degrees for 10min, and yeah they were like soft goey skates that wrapped my feet. After a day of cooling i tried them on again and yeah thats a nice fitting skate.  Like others have said its like wearing sneakers. I put on my old ccm u10s for comparison and it made me realize how much extra volume i had in them.  Now the question of whether i get used to the makos in a slow pickup game or use them tonight for the beer leauge summer playoff game.  

[icewalker_bg 126]

I struggled in the beginning with the stance, took me a few hours to adjust, to be honest my body still tries to throw me off sometimes even today after 2 years or so in the Makos, it remembers all the years skating on skates that did not put me in such a deep knee bend and leaning forward. 

[Stewie 721]

I love the lace locks on my 50Ks, that said, with how tight of a fit the makos are and with how good they wrap post bake I couldn't imagine needing them on my M8s I just purchased to convert, unless maybe you are a half size too big and really want to clamp down you should be good without them.

[IPv6Freely 2093]

Should be, sure. But I like the idea of two different "zones". Whether it's actually doing something or not, I don't know. Definitely not a half size too big in my case. 

The other benefit is that I like having three eyelets unlaced to put my skates on, but once on the 3rd from the top eyelets I find difficult to thread the lace through unless I have brand new laces with still-stiff aglets. The locks allow me to not have to thread those eyelets.